Why do I need fire rope?

All stoves rely on fire rope of one sort or another to create a good seal around their doors, and sometimes the glass. Fire rope can also be used to seal stove panels where they butt up against each other. Fire rope provides a good airtight seal so that your stove can burn to it’s optimum ability.

Fire rope can be used when you are joining the flue pipe to the stove. Fire rope can withstand very high temperatures, but does need replacing from time to time as it tends to deteriorate with use.

Fire rope, or what is sometimes called ceramic stove rope, comes in a range of different sizes and it is always important to make sure you use the right size of ceramic fire rope for your stove.

What size of door rope seal does my stove use?

To find out what size of rope your stove uses you can either see if your stove's details are listed on the Stove Spares website , look at the manufacturer’s stove manual or measure the groove that the door rope seal fits into. (Do not measure the rope as rope can become brittle and compressed over time and therefore the dimensions would be inaccurate). An easy way to measure the groove would be to get some known-sized drill bit (from the workshop) and see which one fits snugly into where the rope is fitted.

Fire rope is normally used in conjunction with high temperature fire rope adhesive - or rope glue. The rope glue holds the fire rope in place, usually in a shaped groove or channel in the door.

How do I tell if the fire rope needs replacing?

Ceramic fire rope, especially when used on a stove door, is prone to squashing over the years. This leads to air leaking into the stove as the rope forms the seal between the stove door and the body of the stove. Symptoms of this may be that the stove burns too fiercely or that tarring occurs at the edges of the window. A good test is to put a piece of thin paper in between the door and body of your stove, and then shut the door onto it. If the fire rope is still doing it's job then you should find that it is difficult to remove the paper. If the paper is easy to remove then you need to replace your fire rope.

To replace ceramic fire rope in a wood burning stove

To replace fire rope on your stove you need to make sure all the surfaces that you are wanting to use it on are free from oil, dust or any form of coating or dirt. Fire rope often fits into a special channel or groove in the doors of the stove. This needs to be cleaned out completely before you insert the new fire rope.

Sometimes it may be necessary to degrease the surface using a solvent like white spirit. If you rub the surfaces to be bonded with a light abrasive, this will help to give a good key.

Apply the rope adhesive to both surfaces, ie, the fire rope and the stove, and apply firm pressure to give an even bond.